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Obesity in Children Living within Australia
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Childhood obesity levels are increasing at disturbing rates in Australia and many other countries. Childhood and adolescent obesity occurs when a child has too much body fat. Obesity is usually caused by eating too much and not getting enough exercise whatever the genetic background. It is almost always blamed on the child’s genes but genes are responsible for 25 to 40 percent of all cases of obesity. The rest is chiefly influenced by environmental factors. The Body mass index (BMI) can determine if a child is obese Growth charts, such as weight-for-age and weight-for-height, are most commonly used to find out if children are overweight or obese. The BMI can be calculated by dividing a child or adolescent's weight (kilograms) by their height (m2). The suggested international cut-off points for when a child is considered obese are: 2 years and over - 20.09 for boys and 19.81 for girls 5 years - 19.30 for boys and 19.17 for girls 10 years - 24.00 for boys and 24.11 for girls 15 years - 28.30 for boys and 29.11 for girls 18 years and over - 30 for both males and females. Overweight or obese children are most likely to remain obese as adolescents than slimmer children. Adolescence appears to be a particularly sensitive period for the development of obesity. About 80 per cent of obese adolescents will become obese adults. This is why we need to target the problem while they are young.
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